[Aztlan] New Posting

[Jeffrey Splitstoser]

Dear FAMSI,

The following posting was sent to a group of Andeanists, so it should be OK to poston AZTLAN. It directly impacts Aztlan participants, because it involves the curation, access, and study of the large collection of Maya and Navajo textiles housed at The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.

Hello all,
On behalf of a group of concerned individuals, Nancy Porter <nkporter at earthlink.net> sends the following message about changes in staffing at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC.

This letter purposely bears no signature.  It was composed, amended  and modified by several people including, but not limited to Mary  Frame and Nancy Porter.

As you may have heard, The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., has  recently eliminated the position of “Curator of Western Hemisphere Textiles”. This move sends a signal that the administration has a  relatively low regard for the textiles of the Western Hemisphere,  including those of the Americas and the Andes. Yet The Textile Museum  has one of the premiere collections of Andean textiles, which has  been extensively studied and published by many highly regarded scholars.

Over a span of three decades, Ann Rowe as curator has prepared  exhibits, organized Andean textile conferences, edited issues of the  museum’s journal, conference proceedings and catalogues, and written  many other ground-breaking publications based on the collection. Her  reputation as an expert and authority on textiles of the New World is  global. Such unique contributions are usually rewarded by emeritus  status, not by the termination of a position.

Assisted by Ann, a wide community of Andean scholars has studied and  benefitted from The Textile Museum’s collections. The value of her  advice and expertise is uncontested and has always been generously  given. Deprived of a Curator of Western Hemisphere Textiles, the  value of the collection to both the general public and the scholarly  community will be vastly diminished, and a stellar collection of  Andean textiles may regrettably drift into obscurity and become  essentially inaccessible.

In addition to eliminating the Western Hemisphere curatorial  position, the Library hours have been substantially reduced, the  librarian has resigned, and the photo archives coordinator and shipping clerk have been let go.  With these cuts, in an effort to reduce the budget  deficit, the museum has lost key research support functions -  collectively, more than half the heart of a scholarly institution.

There is a possibility that an outcry from national and international  scholars, museum professionals, and donors could influence these  decisions if a flood of letters to the director (Daniel Walker) and  the President of the Board (Bruce P. Baganz) were to arrive before  the Board meets on September 19th.

Letters should be addressed to:

Daniel Walker, Director
The Textile Museum
2320 'S' Street, NW
Washington, D.C.  20008-4088
email:  dwalker at textilemuseum.org

Bruce P. Baganz, President,  Board of Trustees
The Textile Museum
2320 'S' Street, NW
Washington, D.C.  20008-4088
OR
2101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Apt. 73
Washington,  D.C.  20008-1760
email:    bpbaganz at earthlink.net

email may also be sent to  info at textilemuseum.org with a request to please forward to Dan Walker and/or Bruce Baganz